Location-Based Open Social Networks

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for open social networks configured for a location or place. In an aspect, a map shows up after an app is started at user&#39;s device. Local networks are arranged accessible via interactive network icons on the map. Local networks are also arranged accessible to remote users via map or website link. In another aspect, user number or post quantity is displayed beside network icon on a map. In yet another aspect, posts generated by local and remote users are presented in separate windows. Furthermore, social network is searchable via keyword or category in map setting.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. Sec. 119 ofprovisional patent applications Ser. No. 62/326,839, filed Apr. 25, 2016and Ser. No. 62/339,927, filed May 22, 2016.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

Not applicable

SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM

Not applicable

BACKGROUND

Field Of Invention

This invention relates to social network, and more specifically, to opensocial networks based upon location.

Description of Prior Art

A social networking system provides an online service, platform, orwebsite that implements social networks, where users may share news,information, ideas, or feelings. A social networking environment ismostly web-based, and it enables users to interact with each other overthe Internet, via online posts, instant or short messages, tweets, oremails. As smartphone system supports social networking environment andmany users have a smartphone, social networks may be used as a newcommunication platform for almost all situations.

For instance, communication via social network may complementface-to-face conversation among unknown users at a location. When a useris at a shopping mall, the user may want to exchange info with someonein there. When a user is at a train station, the user may want to knowwhat happened when a train is delayed. A user may look around and findsomeone to ask a question. Alternatively, a user may post a question ina social circle designated to the location. For some, the latter may beeasier to do, since it rids a user of shyness, awkwardness, and possibleembarrassment. For a business, the latter provides another channel tocommunicate with customers aside from telephone, website, and email.

When a social network is employed as contacting or communicationplatform, openness and ease of use become important. But many socialnetworks are exclusive, need to be found, and require registration oreven qualification process for enrollment.

Therefore, there exists a need for social network that is open, easy tofind, and easy to access.

The word “post” as verb or “posting” is referred broadly as transmittinginformation from a user to a server via communication network to letothers in a certain environment, such as a social networking circle,access the transmitted information. The word “post” as noun includesinformation posted or submitted by a user on the Internet, or usergenerated content on the Internet or in any network. Posted informationor contents may cover a hyperlink or a uniform resource locator (URL),audio, video, an image, a text, a message, an e-mail, news article, blogentry, survey, etc. Posts are preferably hosted on a web site, but mayalso be hosted locally using local database or local server system. Indiscussions below, messages, besides posts, are used sometime. “Message”as noun is considered equivalent to post.

OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES

Accordingly, several main objects and advantages of the presentinvention are:

-   -   a). to provide improved location-based open social networks;    -   b). to provide such social networks which are open to all users;    -   c). to provide such social networks which are easy to find and        easy to access;    -   d). to provide such social networks which match user's location        records;    -   e). to provide such social networks which show up on interactive        map for user to access easily;    -   f). to provide such social networks which display messages from        a given time block;    -   g). to provide such social networks which maintain message        quantity on display below a given limit;    -   h). to provide such social networks which provide separate        presentation windows for local and remote users; and    -   i). to provide such social networks which are searchable via        keyword or category in map setting.

Further objects and advantages will become apparent from a considerationof the drawings and ensuing description.

SUMMARY

In accordance with the present invention, methods and systems areproposed for location-based open social networks which are easy to findand easy to access. No registration procedures are needed for networkenrolment. In one embodiment, being there enables a user to discover andaccess location-based networks easily. Meanwhile, all online users haveaccess to location-based networks via interactive map or website link.In another embodiment, user number or post quantity of network isdisplayed to help user select a network. For users who prefer controllednetwork contents, a limit on message quantity may be arranged, or a timeperiod may be chosen. Users are also able to search for network on a mapdirectly using keyword or category. In addition, messages from local andremote users are presented in different windows on screen forconvenience of viewing local info.

DRAWING FIGURES

FIG. 1 is an exemplary block diagram describing a user device embodimentin accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary flow diagram showing embodiment of arranging andaccessing social network in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a graphic diagram showing embodiment of circle app interface,where social circles appear on map automatically in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are exemplary flow diagrams showing embodiments ofarranging and accessing social network in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary flow diagram which illustrates management ofsocial network in accordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 7 and 8 use exemplary flow diagram and graphic diagram to showembodiments of post management in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 9 uses graphic diagrams to show network access using interactivemap in accordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 10 and 11 are graphic diagrams to show embodiments of circle appinterface, where certain status of social circle is presented in mapsetting in accordance with the present invention.

REFERENCE NUMERALS IN DRAWINGS 10 Camera 12 Device 14 Processor 16Computer Readable Medium 18 GPS Sensor 20 NFC Sensor 22 Device 24 Screen26 Smartphone 28 User Device 30 Screen 32 User Device 34 Screen 36Device

38 Screen

100, 102, 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 120, 124, 126, 128,130, 132, 134, 136, 138, 140, 142, 144, 146, 148, 150, 152, 154, 156,158, 160, 162, 164, 166, 168, 170, 172, 174, 176, 178, 180, 182, 184,and 186 are exemplary steps.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following exemplary embodiments are provided for complete disclosureof the present invention and to fully inform the scope of the presentinvention to those skilled in the art, and the present invention is notlimited to the schematic embodiments disclosed, but can be implementedin various types.

A social networking environment may involve a networking system andmultiple user devices. A networking system may contain multiple servers.User devices and network system are connected via communicationnetworks. One or more social networks may be implemented by thenetworking system in the environment.

The word “server” means a system or systems which may have similarfunctions and capacities as one or more servers. Main components ofserver may include one or more processors, which control and processdata and information by executing software, logic, code, or storedexecutable instructions, or carrying out any other suitable functions. Aserver and/or processor, as a computing device, may include anyhardware, firmware, software, or a combination. In the most compactform, thanks to the advance of microelectronic technologies, a servermay be built on a single processor chip.

A networking system may enable and implement various types of socialnetworks serving a great number of users. It may exemplarily be dividedinto three blocks, represented by server, database, and router andswitch. A server may comprise one or more servers processingapplications, web applications, images, emails, networking, searchingtasks, etc. The database may store data associated with users, networks,servers, and various services. Router and switch may transmitinformation packets between user device and networking system overcommunication networks and work as a gatekeeper to and from thenetworks. As social networks may involve a tremendous amount of data,which may be uploaded and aggregated by networking system continuously,a separate database system may be created. A database system may includea large number of storage devices or modules and specialty servers fordata management and maintenance.

FIG. 1 is an illustrative block diagram of one embodiment according tothe present invention. A device 12 may represent user device or awireless electronic device, including but not limited to mobile phone,smart phone, smart watch, other wearable device, handheld computer,tablet computer, desktop computer, virtual reality (VR) device,augmented reality (AR) device, and the like. Device 12 may include aprocessor 14 and computer readable medium 16. Processor 14 may mean oneor more processor chips or systems. Medium 16 may include a memoryhierarchy built by one or more memory chips or storage modules like RAM,ROM, FLASH, magnetic, optical and/or thermal storage devices. Processor14 may run programs or sets of executable instructions stored in medium16 for performing various functions and tasks, e.g., surfing on theInternet, placing phone calls, logging on a website, playing video ormusic, gaming, electronic payment, social networking, sending andreceiving emails, short messages, files, and data, executing otherapplications, etc. Device 12 may also include input, output, andcommunication components, which may be individual modules or integratedwith processor 14. Communication components may connect the device to aserver or another device via communication network. Usually, Device 12may have a display (not shown in FIG. 1 for brevity reason) and agraphical user interface (GUI). A display may have liquid crystaldisplay (LCD) screen, organic light emitting diode (OLED) screen(including active matrix OLED (AMOLED) screen), or LED screen. A screensurface may be sensitive to touches, i.e., sensitive to haptic and/ortactile contact with a user, especially in the case of smart phone,tablet computer, smart watch, and certain wearable devices. A touchscreen may be used as a convenient tool for user to enter input andinteract with a system. Furthermore, device 12 may also have a voicerecognition component for receiving verbal command or audio input from auser. For VR and AR devices and some wearable devices, virtual screen orscreen having a very small size may be arranged. While it isinconvenient or impractical to touch such a screen, verbal command andgesture instructions may become useful for users.

A communication network which device 12 may access may cover a range ofentities such as the Internet or the World Wide Web, a local areanetwork (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network(MAN), a telephone network, an intranet, wireless, and other types ofnetworks. Device 12 may be connected to a network by various wired,wireless, optical, infrared, ultrasonic or other communication means.Via communication networks, device 12 may communicate with a remoteserver of networking system or service center to send and receive dataor messages.

Device 12 may include a camera sensor 10. Sensor 10 may be a regularphone camera module used by user to take pictures in daily life. Thecamera sensor may be arranged to scan quick response (QR) code,one-dimensional barcode, or any other machine-readable code with thehelp of certain application. QR code or barcode may be printed out anddisplayed for public use easily.

Device 12 may include a global positioning system (GPS) 18. Sensor 18may enable a device to get its own location info. Besides GPS, devicelocation may also be obtained using wireless triangulation methods, orother suitable technology, which may be prepared by a service provideror on-site service facility. Usually for indoor or some urbanenvironment, positioning methods other than GPS are used, since GPSrequires a clear view of the sky or clear line of sight for four GPSsatellites.

Furthermore, device 12 may have near-field communication (NFC)capability enabled by NFC sensor 20. NFC is of short-range wirelesscommunication technology and may be employed to communicate securelybetween NFC devices. Sensor 20 may also be used to read radio-frequencyidentification (RFID) tag. RFID is also a wireless technology for thepurpose of transferring data, such as identification data, passively oractively. A RFID chip or RFID tag may be made very small in size, e.g.,smaller or much smaller than one millimeter. It may be manufactured bysemiconductor technologies. In application, a RFID tag may beconveniently placed, for instance, on a table or wall for public use.

Inside device 12, output signals of sensors may be transmitted toprocessor 14, which, employed with certain algorithm, may process thedata and act according to predefined programs. For instance, processor14 may process data from NFC sensor 20, transmit certain messages to anetworking system or service center, and then waiting for instructionsor new messages from the system or center.

FIG. 2 is a schematic flow diagram showing one embodiment of arrangingand accessing location-based open social network. Assume that a socialnetwork or social networking circle is established for Place A byservice center in Step 100. The social circle is open to all userswithout any need of invitation, recommendation, verification, andregistration. A user has several options to access the circle. In Step102, a user may tap an interactive icon on a map presented on atouch-sensitive screen. The icon may bear name of the circle or theplace. Once the icon is tapped, a user enters the circle and a circleinterface shows up on the screen in Step 112. A user may also access asocial circle via traditional method, i.e., by finding and tapping alink representing the circle in Step 106.

For location-based network, being there at the place may be utilized toprovide ease and convenience for finding and accessing a correspondingsocial circle. In Step 104, assume a user arrives at Place A, which maybe detected by GPS, triangulation method, or other techniques. The userstarts a circle app at a user device. Circle app may mean an applicationwhich implements social circle functions, instructs user device toobtain data, and assists user to find, access and perform tasks insocial circles. Next the device sends user's location data to servicecenter, which in turn gets info of social circle created for the place.Service center sends circle info to the device and a circle icon appearson device screen in Step 108. The user sees the circle icon and thentaps it in Step 110. Almost instantly, the user enters or accesses thecircle in Step 112. After a user opens a circle app at a place, a socialcircle related to the place may be presented on screen right away. So, auser may just need to recognize a circle icon and tap on it to accessthe circle. The process to find and access a social circle isstraightforward, simple, and easy.

FIG. 3 is a graphic diagram showing interface of circle appschematically. Assume that a device 36 has a touch-sensitive screen 38.After a user launches a social networking app, device 36 startscontacting service center and transmits location info. Service centerreceives the info, retrieves from database circle information related touser location, and then sends it to device 36. Once circle informationis obtained, it is presented in app interface. As in the figure,interactive icons “Fresh Mart Circle”, “Stadium Circle”, and “UnionSquare Circle”, and user's own location are displayed on a map. Thecircles may correspond to a store, a stadium, and a public squarerespectively. Circle icons may be placed at each circle's location on amap. Circle location may be a location or place which is determined whena circle is generated. When an entity has a physical location, thelocation may be assigned to a circle of the entity and be called thecircle's location. For instance, location of Fresh Mart Circle is of thestore site and location of Stadium Circle is of the stadium. A user maysimply and conveniently tap a circle icon to log in a circle. It isnoted that a circle icon on a map may be found and accessed by user froma remote place. For instance, a user may log on website of servicecenter, retrieve a map, zoom in to see a place, and then find a targetcircle icon around the place. Then, the user may tap the icon to enterthe circle. In another embodiment, map mode of interface may be replacedby textual mode, where a list containing circle icons may be presented.For instance, after a user opens a circle app, circle info may beretrieved from service center and presented by a list of circle icons onscreen. Next, a user may choose and tap an icon to enter a circle.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic flow diagram of accessing social network.Assume that a user arrives at a place and launches a circle app in Step114. Next, user device, service carrier, or on-site facility starts tocollect location data in Step 116. Depending on program setting, a usermay register a place via various ways, since there are severaltechnologies available for location detection. “Register” as a verbmeans a user causes submission of location records to service centeractively or passively to provide evidence of being present at a place.

In Step 118, positioning technique such as GPS or triangulation methodis used to get user location automatically and directly. GPS methodrequires a GPS sensor, such as sensor 18 of FIG. 1, while triangulationmethod may be conducted by on-site facility or wireless service carrier.

In Step 120, RFID technology is used. A RFID tag may be displayed forpublic use at a place. If a user device has a NFC sensor, like sensor 20of FIG. 1, a user may swing the device in front of a RFID tag to readit. RFID tag may contain location info and link data so that it mayassist a user device to log in a social circle directly. Alternatively,a RFID may be designed as a location indicator, that is, the tag onlyprovides location data to user device. User device then sends the datato service center to let the center know where a user is.

Step 122 introduces QR code method, which works in a way similar toRFID. The code may contain login instructions for a circle or just infoof a location. As a location indicator, RFID tag and QR code may provideprecise geographic information. They are especially useful whenpositioning method is not available, not preferred due to privacyconcerns, or not precise enough. But RFID and QR-code methods are notautomatic and they require a user to take action, either swiping adevice in front of a tag or aiming at and scanning a QR code.

User's location may also be determined by user himself or herself viaverbal method as in Step 124. With voice recognition technology, a usermay speak to a device name of place or venue. Verbal method is not onlyuseful, but also convenient, as saying a word or a few words is all ittakes.

Step 126 employs map method. The method is convenient for on-site userswhen user location is not precise. For instance, when user locationcan't be determined accurately enough and there is no RFID tag or QRcode printout in sight, a user may open a circle app and select mapmode. Next, an interactive map may appear on screen. A user may searchthe map and find a spot of interest. The user then taps the spot, whichmay be designed as a confirmation act to specify location of interest.

Once user's location info is obtained, it is sent to service center inStep 128. The center then decides which social circle should bepresented to a user based on location data and predeterminedarrangement. It may be designed that a location-based open social circlehas a defined geographic coverage or a designated geographic circlearea. Shape and range of designated circle area may be defined byservice centre or proposed by an entity which a circle is assigned to.When a circle area is submitted by an entity, service center mayevaluate it and approve it with or without any change. If user'slocation is in a circle's designated area, the circle be selected andpresented to a user. Since social circles' designated areas may overlap,a user may be located at a place claimed by multiple circles. In such acase, multiple circles may be presented to a user for selection.

Alternatively, a designated geographic user area or designated user areamay be defined. All social circles whose location is in a designateduser area may be considered relevant to a user and may be selected andpresented to the user. A designated user area may have any shape anddimension specified by service center or user. For instance, adesignated user area may have a circular shape whose center is of userlocation. The circular area's radius may be defined by service center asdefault setting which may be adjusted by user. Examples of radius valueinclude one mile to ten miles. If radius is of one mile, social circleswhose location is within one-mile range may be chosen and provided touser. It is noted that selected social circles may be presented in mapor textual mode at user device. In map mode, a map is displayed whichcovers a designated user area. The map may have square, rectangular, oranother shape. Circles may show up as interactive icons on map. Intextual mode, interactive circle icons may form a list or appear on alist.

After obtaining info of social circles, service center sends it to userdevice for presentation. In Step 130, a user ponders whether to visit acircle while still at a place close to it. The user makes a decision,and accesses a circle in Step 134. When the user is busy, he or she mayaccess a circle at a later time in Step 132. As circle info is received,it may be recorded at user device. An interactive “History” button maybe configured in circle app interface. Once a user taps “History”button, circles encountered within a defined time period in the past,e.g., three days or a week, may show up on screen. A user may tap onecircle to log in.

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary flow diagram of accessing social network fromanother angle. In order to participate in activities of location-basedsocial networking circles, a user may start by opening an account orsubscribing networking service at service center in Step 136. Theprocedure may be required for users who want to issue post in socialnetworking circles. If a user is not registered, he or she may accesscontents of social circle, but may not be allowed to post anything. Thussocial circles discussed here are configured open to all users, but onlyregistered user may post messages. A circle app may be downloaded fromwebsite of service center and installed at user device. During appinstallation, a user may be asked to submit info such as name, emailaddress, place of residence, and preferred user name. As a result,service center may know a user's identity and other personal info, andthus may be able to help the user log in certain social circles withoutanother round of registration process and without password.Consequently, a user may carry a user name registered at service centerand use it in various participating social circles. The arrangementmakes a social circle free of registration and in the meantime, a userdoesn't need to create user name for every circle encountered. When auser doesn't want to use registered user name in a social circle, theuser may choose an option to get a temporary user name assigned for usein that circle.

In Step 138, a user selects options of tracking scheme. As location datais a critical part of social circle program, a user may decide whichdetection method would be employed. Location data contains sensitiveinformation, so some users may be concerned about privacy issues. Forinstance, some may not want service center to know all places he or shehas been to. As a result, automatic positioning method like GPS andtriangulation may be turned off, while manual operation such as RFID, QRcode, verbal, or map scheme may be selected, which means locationrecords are collected and reported only after a user initiates it. Inpractice, a user may place a user device close to a RFID tag to read it,arrange a phone camera to aim at a QR code to scan it, speak to a userdevice, or tap a circle icon on a map. Next user device transmitslocation info to service center. When GPS method is selected and GPSdevice is turned on, a circle app may acquire location info and sendlocation records to service center automatically, assuming the circleapp is started already. Next, service center may analyze user's locationrecords and obtain info of suitable location-based circle or circles.Circle info may be transferred to user device subsequently. Iftriangulation or other positioning technology such as ultrasonic methodis selected, user's location records may be collected and sent toservice center automatically from a contracted service, still assuming acircle app is on. When a circle app is off and a user arrives at aplace, a user device may not communicate with service center and submitor help submit location records. But a user may authorize serviceprovider or service facility to collect his or her location records andtransfer the records to service center. Thus whether a circle app is onor off, places may be registered automatically.

In Step 140, a user selects regions of interest. As a user may pass manyplaces on a routine basis, a lot of social circles may be registeredregularly. A user may like some social circles and dislike some othercircles. So there is a need to avoid registering certain places andlimit the quantity of social circles in daily life. A user may singleout some places or regions and stay away from social circles associatedwith those locations. After a user delists a place to avoid it,corresponding social circles may not appear even the place is registeredby the user.

As a user goes out in Step 142, commuting to work or doing things afterwork, he or she may register places automatically or manually. Assumethat a user turns on circle app and registered a place in Step 144. Thenan icon of a social circle shows up in app interface on device screen inStep 146. The social circle may represent a network assigned to theplace. After a while, if the user goes to another place, the originalicon may be replaced automatically by another icon corresponding toanother social circle. In Step 148, the user taps an icon of a circle,which prompts the device to send a message to service center. Servicecenter then starts retrieving info of the circle and sends it to thedevice. In Step 150, response from service center is received and circleinfo is presented on device screen. It may be designed that servicecenter selects content based upon prearranged conditions and only sendsselected posts to user. For instance, assume a user device is set up todisplay twenty messages or less on screen at a time. Then service centerretrieves and sends the latest twenty or less messages each time.Quantity limit of message may be arranged to make life less complicated.Service center may choose a value as limit or a user may have options toselect a value. With quantity limit, old messages are deletedautomatically when new message are published. Thus content on devicescreen may get updated by itself once a new message is received fromservice center. In Step 152, update of circle content is performed.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic flow diagram of social network formation andadministration. Assume service center is in charge of social networkcreation and management. Service center may get connected to user devicevia various communication networks. As a great number of locations maybe suitable for setting up social circles, it is up to the center todecide which location or region shall be chosen. Service center maygenerate many social networks for many locations respectively. For alocation, multiple networks may be created to cover different timeblocks such as consecutive days. Since an open network discussed heremay have unlimited time span, usually only one network is arranged for alocation. Thus it may be configured that some selected locations eachmay be assigned a single social network only. Service center maygenerate lots of networks matching lots of locations one by one. In Step154, service center picks a location and announces creation of a socialcircle associated with the place publically. The location may be asubway station, a shopping mall, a public square, a sports venue, apark, or any other place where a crowd may gather. As discussed, such asocial circle is arranged accessible through several methods. Servicecenter monitors presence of registered user at the location and recordsuser's location info in Step 156.

In Step 158, service center receives request for circle info from anon-site user, which may happen after the user launches social circle appand looks for available networks. User request and location info arepassed to service center automatically. Service center performs a searchbased on info received to get circles at and around user location. Thenin Step 160, the center sends one or more circle names to user device,which are presented on display for user to review. Next in Step 162, thecenter receives selection info from the user, who taps a circle icon onscreen. Assume that service center has the info that message quantityhas a limit at user device. In Step 164, service center retrieves thelatest messages, for instance, the latest twenty messages if the limitis twenty. Selected circle contents are transmitted to user device forpresentation in Step 166. After a while, new messages are posted in thecircle. Service center updates message list while keeps message numberbelow the limit in Step 168. Updated messages are sent to user device.User device may display a fixed number of messages, while the newestmessage replaces the oldest one continuously and automatically.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic flow diagram to illustrate management of socialnetworking circle. As proposed, users may access a location-based socialcircle conveniently after arriving at and registering a place. Suchusers may be called “local users”, since they are there locally. Inaddition, an open circle may also be accessed by users who are notthere, whether registered or unregistered. These users may be called“remote users”. A remote user may be close to the place or thousands ofmiles away from it.

More specifically, it may be defined that a user is considered local fora networking circle if the user is physically located in the circle'srange or a designated circle area. On the other hand, when a circle'srange covers a user's location, the circle may be called the user's“local networking circle”. A designated circle area may be defined byservice center. The area may also be suggested by a user such as abusiness who requested to set up a circle for business use. Servicecenter may approve a user-requested circle area after evaluation. Adesignated circle area may have a circular shape centered at a spot witha given radius. The spot may be a business location if it is a businesscircle. Radius of the area may be of, for instance, a couple of miles ortens of miles. In addition, designated circle area may have other shapeor irregular shape depending on actual geographic and demographicfeatures. Shape and dimension of designated circle area are editable oradjustable by service center. When a circle represents a business orentity, the business or entity may be allowed to edit or adjust shapeand dimension of designated circle area under certain conditions. Aftera user opens a circle app, service center may get user location data andfind local networking circles whose range or designated area covers thelocation.

When a user is located out of a designated circle area, the user may beconsidered as remote user to a social circle; and at the same time, thesocial circle may be considered as a remote circle for the user. After auser opens a circle app at a device, app interface may be designed toshow circle info obtained from service center. Three options may bearranged for presenting social circles. A user may choose one of themafter entering “Edit” mode. In the options, circles presented mayinclude local circles only, circles within a designated user area only,or local circles plus remote circles which are relatively close to userlocation in a predefined area. In the second and/or third option, iconsof local circles may be arranged to have different color or differentappearance from remote circles for easy recognition. In circle appinterface, social circles may be presented by circle icons organized ina list or scattered on a map.

Both local and remote registered users may post messages in a socialcircle. When a great number of users actively participate in circleactivities, a large number of posts may be created. Thus there is a needto separate posts generated by local users and remote users.Location-based circle is related to a place, and thus it is likely thatinfo provided by local users may be more relevant and more appealing.When there are a lot of posts from remote users, further division may bearranged to avoid presenting too many posts in one window at a time. Forinstance, posts from remote users may be grouped by user's location,such as region or country.

Moreover, it may be designed that all users have a default invisiblemode. And a user may switch between invisible and visible mode. The word“visible” may mean user name or temporary user name shows up on a circlepage after a user enters a circle so that other users may see it. Forinstance, if a user accesses a circle with visible mode, his or her username may be displayed on a list from a circle page which is accessibleto all users. After a visible user logs out or leaves circle interface,name of the user is removed. On the contrary, the word “invisible” maymean one person's user name is not publicized in a circle. If a user isinvisible in a circle, his or her user name does not appear on a memberlist when the user is visiting the circle and reading messages postedthere. Thus users in a circle are not able to see user name of aninvisible user and not able to know whether an invisible user enters thecircle. When a user is visible or invisible in a circle, the user may beconsidered in visible or invisible mode respectively. The word “mode”means a status or state of user when the user is in a circle.Location-based social circles proposed here are open to all users. Mostusers in a circle may not know each other and may not want to know eachother for various reasons. Many users who enter a circle may just wantto see what other people talk about. Therefore, most users may preferinvisible mode. But when a user posts a message, the message may show auser name or a temporarily assigned name assigned for use in one circleonly. A temporary name may be used to protect user privacy when a userdoesn't want to expose user name.

For location-based social circle, there are users who had registered aplace and may access a circle anytime, but never logged in. These usersare omitted here and not discussed. For unregistered users, it may bearranged that they are in invisible mode all the time.

If a user enters a circle, but doesn't post any contents, the user maybe called “watcher”. In a sense, unregistered users are also watchers.When a registered user chooses to be a watcher, the user may likeinvisible mode, watching what happens in a circle quietly andstealthily. While a watcher doesn't contribute to posts in a circle,social circle may still benefit from watcher as watchers enhance thestrength of audience. When the audience is strong, a circle may attractmore users, since many people have a tendency to see what a crowd paysattention to.

Back to FIG. 7. Assume that service center creates a social circle inStep 170. Next, the center decides whether to allow remote user toissues posts in the circle in Step 172. There might be differentarguments about posts generated by remote users. First, the number ofremote users may be unlimited, since any user may enter a circle, whichmay render too many posts for viewer to handle. Second, remote users aremore likely to post irrelevant messages, causing distraction andannoyance. But interaction and info exchange between local and remoteusers are important and encouraged in general. Therefore, it's up toservice center to make a decision according to each case. If remoteusers are not allowed to post any, messages are generated by local usersonly, as in Step 174. If remote users are allowed to post contents,messages issued by local and remote users may be displayed togetheralong a time line. However, when many messages are posted, there is aneed to group messages to provide convenience for viewers. In Step 176,two message windows are arranged. All users may view the windows. Aftera user posts a message in Step 178, service center determines whetherthe poster is local user or not in Step 180. If a poster is a remoteuser, the message is displayed in window B in Step 182, which is adedicated place for posts from remote users. If a poster is local user,the user may have two options in Step 184. The user may post it inwindow B, for interaction with remote users, or post it in window A tokeep conversation among local users in Step 186. Window A is arrangedfor publishing messages from local users only.

FIG. 8 depicts a schematic diagram of social circle interface. A userdevice 22 has a display screen 24. Screen 24 shows two windows in asocial circle interface. A window on the left displays messages fromlocal users and the other on the right presents messages from both localand remote users. For a remote user, the window on the left is viewableonly. When messages from remote users reach a limit, they may be dividedfurther by user location. In case posts from remote users are grouped byuser location, a user may choose an option to display in the rightwindow messages from domestic remote users at one time, and frominternational users at another time. It may be designed that a messageposted in a circle shows user name or temporary user name of the posterand place where the post is located. If a user doesn't want to exposehis or her location, the user may be considered remote user even whenthe user has registered a place locally.

FIG. 9 uses graphic diagrams to show accessing social circle throughinteractive map when user location is only known roughly. Takesmartphone as user device. Assume that circle app is started at asmartphone 26. In circle interface, a “Map” button may be configured(not shown in figure for brevity reason). When “Map” button isactivated, map mode takes over. A map with interactive icons or objectsappears on screen in Step 1. Alternatively, map mode may be arranged forstarting app interface directly. Since user location is unclear, a mapin large scale may be presented. Next, a user double taps on a screenspot to zoom in as depicted in Step 2. After zooming in, icons of somesocial circles show up on the map, including Circle 1, Circle 2, andCircle 3 at different places. These icons are interactive. In Step 3,the user selects Circle 2 and taps its icon on screen. Then in Step 4,an interface of Circle 2 appears on display screen of phone 26, whichalso means entry of the circle. Next, the user may view messages, postmessages, or do other things. Thus, it is seen that accessing a socialcircle is simple, easy, and convenient via a map. No registration. Nopassword. A user just starts a circle app on a site, opens aninteractive map, finds a place of interest, and taps on a circle icon toaccess a circle.

The screen view of map setting in FIG. 9 may be used as a startinginterface when a user starts a circle app and user location is not knownprecisely. With rough data of user location, obtained from wirelessservice provider for instance, an area may be determined approximately.Thus a map may be presented showing an area which a user may be in andmay have interest. A user may select a circle on map right away or do itafter zooming in. When user location is known, a predetermined map areamay be specified by service center, circle app, or user setup. Thepredetermined area may be of a designated user area which is discussedin the above or may overlap a designated user area with certain degree.For instance, if a designated user area is circular, a map may show theexact circular area or a square which covers the circular area withclose dimensions.

A map area in starting interface may also be an area which is largeenough to include locations of local circles, where a designated circlearea of each circle may cover the user's location. Setup of map area instarting interface may be edited by user. For instance, a user maychange shape of map area from square to rectangular. After a map area isdetermined, service center may discover all networking circles whoselocation is in the area and send circle information to user forpresentation. On user device side, info from service center may bereceived and then displayed in an interface as processed by circle app.For instance, a screen may show circle icons distributed on a map.Circle icons may contain circle name and/or logo and be located at aplace close to circle location on a map. Characteristic values of circlemay be added to an icon or placed beside it. Characteristic values mayinclude number of users who are currently logging in a circle and amountof messages posted within a given time in a circle. Service center mayarrange a default setting to show or not to show a characteristic valuein starting interface. Options may be arranged for user to change thesetting. Thus, what may appear on screen when a circle app is launchedmay be adjusted by user. Besides user number and message amount, aspecial on-screen label may be added to a circle which has the mostlog-in users or most messages issued within certain time. For instance,a user may select a function such that a circle icon may appear onscreen with a label saying “Most Users” or “Most Messages” when a circleapp is started or after a search process is conducted. It makes it easyfor user to find out the most active circle.

FIGS. 10 and 11 show functions of social circle using exemplarydiagrams. When a user is at a location and wants to enter a circlerelated to the location, the user may log in the circle easily andconveniently as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. However, for a userstaying at home, there may be too many social circles to choose from. Itmay be hard and frustrating to search for an interesting and dynamicsocial circle. Therefore, there exists a need for service center toprovide tips to help users navigate among a great amount of socialnetworks.

In FIG. 10, a screen 30 of a user device 28 shows a map interface. Themap is interactive since it contains interactive icons or buttonsrepresenting links to social circles besides regular map symbols andlegends. On a map, icon of location-based circle may be configured at ornext to a circle location. So a map may present geographic distributionof social circles visually. In the figure, “Map of City” shows threesocial circles exemplarily. The configuration has a title “PostQuantity”. Beside a circle icon, there is a number showing post quantityand a bar whose height reflects the quantity, which is the number ofmessages posted in a circle during a given period of time. The timeperiod may be determined by service center with a value such as pastfive to thirty minutes. It is seen that Circles A, B, and C each have20, 35, and 5 messages generated. As circles with more activities aremore attractive, a user may choose Circle A or B to join. The interfacemay be switched from a circle app interface in textual mode. Forinstance, after a user taps “Map” button at a circle interface, a mapmay show up. Center of the map may be of user location. The map may bearranged to show one or more social circles which exist in the map area.Each social circle may be represented by an interactive icon. When anicon is tapped or activated, a social circle interface may appear onscreen 30, showing contents of a social circle. A map may also containother interactive icons representing website of a business, anorganization, or an event which is associated with a location in a maparea. These features are often seen on a typical online map. But since auser may be more interested in social circles, a “Circle Only” buttonmay be arranged on screen. A user may activate “Circle Only” button on ascreen to show interactive icons of social circles only, while otherinteractive icons and buttons may be removed from screen view. Inforeceived from service center may contain post quantity data to preparefor user request. When a user wants to compare activities among circleson a map, the user may tap “Post Quantity” button. Then post quantitydata is retrieved and quantity bars and numbers may emerge beside circleicons as in the figure. While in map mode, a user may adjust map scaleto view a larger or smaller region on screen.

FIG. 11 shows the same city map with the same social circles on a screen34 of a device 32. Instead of posts issued, number of users in eachcircle is presented by a label showing the number and a bar reflectingthe number. Users counted may include visible members, invisiblemembers, and unregistered users who are accessing a circle. Members meanregistered users here and unregistered users are arranged invisible. Theheight of a bar next to a circle icon reflects total number of userswhose device showing a circle interface while the users may do thingslike reading posts, writing messages, or checking around in the circle.When a circle attracts lots of users, it may be viewed as somethinginteresting may be happening. Thus for some users, it may be worth totake a look. A user may open a circle app, get in map mode, and then tap“User Number” button to have a map showing social circles along with anumber and a bar representing each circle's user quantity. A user maysearch new places by changing map scale or map area, tap an icon of apopular circle which may host a large number of users, and then enter itto find out what is going on.

Sometimes, a user may be interested in a social circle related to aparticular event, such as famous festival, major sports game, bigceremony, traffic jam, weather phenomenon, breaking news of other kind,etc. Thus there exists a need to have a search function. A search may becarried out using keyword or category as search query. Keywords mayinclude name of place, or a word associated with a topic. If a name ofplace or region is submitted, service center may retrieve social circleat or around the place or in the region only. Search result may bepresented in textual or map mode. Textual mode, like current searchresult, may feature a list of circles with a brief introduction to eachone. In map mode, search results may be shown on a map, such as circleicons scattered in a map area, as each circle is related to a location.When a user changes search query in map mode, different circles may showup at different locations on a map. So a user may use search query tofind a social circle in a region conveniently. For ease of use, servicecenter may categorize social circles or rename a circle. For instance,when there is no specific topic, a circle may be labeled as casual talk;when a circle is related to a place where a public event is happening orhappened within a short period of time and conversation in the circle isabout the event, the circle may belong to public event grouptemporarily; when a circle is related to a place where breaking news ishappening, the circle may be renamed breaking news circle, such as beingnamed “Grand Parade Circle” temporarily. Again, both textual and mapmodes may be available for users. When an event happens at a place andattracts attention around the world, users on the scene may log in alocal circle and report what is happening, and users everywhere may findthe circle and access it to learn first-hand information from people inthe front. In practice, a “Search” button may be arranged at circleinterface for enabling search mode, buttons “Textual Mode” and “MapMode” arranged for text and map mode in search process, an entry windowbeside “Keyword” icon for entering keyword, and a tab for selectingcircle category. As said in map mode, when a user submits a new queryexcept location name, a map may remain the same scale, while differentsocial circles may appear at different places each time. Since map scalemay be adjusted to display a smaller or larger area, it may be used asanother query element in a search process. Similarly, post quantity oruser number may be utilized as query element too. When a search is basedon post quantity or user number, circles having top numbers areretrieved and presented. For instance, circles of top three user numbermay be selected and displayed.

Conclusion, Ramifications, and Scope

Thus it can be seen that systems and methods are introduced to provideimproved location-based social networks.

The improved method and system have the following features andadvantages:

-   -   (1). Location-based social circles are arranged open to all        users;    -   (2). On-site users may access a social circle conveniently via        several methods;    -   (3). Users may find and access a social circle via interactive        map;    -   (4). Messages generated by local and remote users are placed in        separate windows;    -   (5). Post quantity and total number of users of a social circle        are presented as a selection guide;    -   (6). User has options to limit quantity of posts on display, and    -   (7). Social network is searchable on a map through keyword or        category.

Although the description above contains many specificities, these shouldnot be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merelyproviding illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments.Numerous modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

Ramifications:

Social networking circle as discussed in the above works as a platformfor two-way communication. For instance, local and remote users may postmessages as well as viewing messages. On the other hand, a social circlemay be designed as a platform aimed for one-way communication. One-waycommunication means users may view messages, but aren't allowed to postmessages. For instance, a networking circle representing a business likea restaurant may favor one-way feature, when the business wants to postinformation for customers to view but doesn't have the manpower tohandle instant inquiries. No matter one-way or two-way, a social circlemay act as a platform of promotion and advertisement for a business.Methods introduced in the above may be used for social circles of bothtypes when the methods are applicable.

A user may search social network by post quantity or user number, or oneof the two factors plus a place or other limitation. For instance, in anon-screen query area, there may be multiple items like “Post Quantity”,“User Number”, “Place”, etc. A user may check a box beside “PostQuantity” or “User Number” to define a search feature, and enter a namein a window area beside “Place” to specify a place. A place may be alocation or a region such as a venue, a town, a state, or a country. Intext mode, search result may be a list of social circles which havehigher post quantity or larger user numbers than rest of the socialcircles in a region. A user may also choose the maximum number ofcircles which may be selected in a search.

In order to do a search in map setting, a user may start from a circleapp interface in map mode or switch from textual to map mode by, forinstance, tapping a “Map Mode” button on screen. First the user mayadjust map center and scale to include a target area. Then the user maytap “Search” button to open a search window on screen. After searchquery is submitted, search result is shown with circle icons positionedon a map and close to circle places respectively. If the first searchresult is not satisfactory, another search may be conducted and a newbatch of icons at new locations may replace the old ones on a map. Whencharacteristic option like “Post Quantity” or “User Number” is selected,for instance, by checking a box beside an option label, a number may beattached to each circle icon on a map. Thus in map mode, a search may beconducted within a map area and search results are displayed usingicons, numbers, and labels on the map. Therefore search in map mode hasmerits of showing not only circle location, but also circlecharacteristics.

Additionally, a “Text Mode” button may be prepared for getting to appinterface in textual mode from map mode.

A user may speak to a device to enter instructions using voicerecognition techniques. For instance, after a user arrives at a place,the user may say “circle app” to a device to launch a circle program.Next a circle interface may show up on screen with one or more icons ofsocial circles presented. The user may take a look at a circle list orcircle icons on a map and say a circle name to enter a circle.

As aforementioned, service center may decide whether a social circleshould be arranged for a place or location. In real life, service centermay not know all needs of users. Thus, users, especially business andorganization entities, may request service center to create alocation-based social circle. And service center may evaluate it,approve the request, and set up a circle. For instance, a retail storemay want to establish a location-based circle of its own. In such acase, the store may provide location data of store to service center. Toaccommodate user's positioning or registering needs, the store mayprepare RFID tag, QR code, and/or other positioning method for users.Aside from business and organization, an individual user may alsorequest to arrange a circle for a place or a group gathering at a place.For social circles originated from request outside of service center, alabel such as “Sponsored Circle” and the name of originator may be shownin a circle interface. Display of the label and originator name may bemandatory since such kind of circle may be used for the advantage ofcertain group or person. Service center may collect fees for creatingand maintaining user-initiated circles.

When there are a lot of messages in a social circle, a user may have ahard time to find out whether other user has replied his or her post ora reply may be removed due to quantity or time limit. For instance, if aquantity limit or time range is arranged, a reply may be with deletedposts which are off limit or out of range. Thus, a “Reply” button may becreated at circle interface. When there is a reply, color of the buttonmay change. A user may tap a “Reply” button to access one or morereplies from other users regarding a post the user made at an earliertime, and may respond to a reply to continue a conversation.

Because location-based open social circle are accessible to all users,many posts may be generated given a potential huge number of users whomay access a circle and write a message. Thus a user may be overwhelmedby lots of messages and the messages may become a burden. Therefore,setting up presentation limit may help some users. Since most users inlocation-based circle don't know each other, some may be interested inactivities which are happening and may not want to know much from pastconversations. Such users may like a quantity limit for messagespresented on user device. For instance, if the limit is of twenty, userdevice may only display twenty messages each time, which are the latesttwenty messages and are updated constantly when new message is issued.For a user with moderate interest in what happened in a circle, a timelimit may be used. Time period may be any value. If it is of thirtyminutes, user device may display posts generated in the past thirtyminutes without message quantity limitation. A message list may beupdated periodically as time goes by. When a user is deeply attached toa circle, the user may choose to save all posts in a circle and have allposts accessible at any time. In practice, a “Setup” button may beconfigured in circle interface. The button may lead to a setup windowwhere a user may choose options like “Message Quantity Limit”, “TimeLimit”, and “Location Limit”. A user may enter a number for quantitylimit or a value for time limit. A time limit may be of half hour, onehour, two hours, or the maximum value allowed. A user may use locationlimit to get circles from a certain region only. For instance, someusers may be interested in social circles from a certain location only.

In many discussions presented, “tap” as a verb is used as an action toactivate an interactive icon or button. It is noted that a tap actionmay be replaced by other moves, like click or verbal instruction when itis doable.

Lastly, in aforementioned discussions, QR code may be replaced by othermachine readable code without affecting proposed functionality, such asone-dimensional bar code, as long as the code contains info required andis readable by user device.

Therefore the scope of the invention should be determined by theappended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examplesgiven.

1.-20. (canceled)
 21. An apparatus having stored executableinstructions, comprising: 1) at least one computing system beingoperable to implement a social networking system, said social networkingsystem arranged to implement a plurality of social networks, saidplurality of social networks each arranged to be associated with alocation; 2) positioning solution for obtaining location data of a user;3) said social networking system arranged to select one or more of saidplurality of social networks after it is determined that the selectedone or more social networks each have a predetermined geographic areawhich covers said location; and 4) said social networking systemarranged to send to said user information of the selected one or moresocial networks when a given program is in operation.
 22. The apparatusaccording to claim 21 wherein the predetermined geographic area iseditable by a social network.
 23. The apparatus according to claim 21wherein information of the selected one or more social networks ispresented to said user using a map or a list.
 24. The apparatusaccording to claim 21 wherein icons of the selected one or more socialnetworks are arranged different from icons of other social networks on adisplay.
 25. The apparatus according to claim 21, further including afirst search mechanism to receive a search query from said user andconduct a search among said plurality of social networks.
 26. Theapparatus according to claim 21, further including a second searchmechanism to search social network in a map area.
 27. The apparatusaccording to claim 21, further including a property mechanism to presenta characteristic value beside a network icon which is displayed on amap.
 28. A computer-implemented method, comprising: 1) configuring aplurality of social networks using a networking system; 2) saidplurality of social networks each arranged to be associated with alocation; 3) obtaining location data of a user; 4) selecting one or moreof said plurality of social networks after determining that the selectedone or more social networks each have a predetermined geographic areawhich covers location of said user; and 5) sending to said userinformation of the one or more networks when a given program is inoperation.
 29. The method according to claim 28, further includingproviding options for editing the predetermined geographic area.
 30. Themethod according to claim 28, further including presenting to said userinformation of the selected one or more social networks using a map or alist.
 31. The method according to claim 28 wherein icons of the selectedone or more social networks are arranged different from icons of othersocial networks on a display.
 32. The method according to claim 28,further including receiving a search query from said user and conductinga search among said plurality of social networks.
 33. The methodaccording to claim 28, further including conducting a search on socialnetwork in an area on a map.
 34. The method according to claim 28,further including presenting a characteristic value beside a networkicon which is displayed on a map.
 35. A computer-implemented method,comprising: 1) configuring a plurality of social networks using anetworking system; 2) said plurality of social networks each arranged tobe associated with a location; 3) obtaining location data of a user; 4)selecting one or more of said plurality of social networks afterdetermining that location of the one or more networks matches apredetermined geographic area of said user respectively; and 5) sendingto said user information of the one or more networks when a givenprogram is in operation.
 36. The method according to claim 35, furtherincluding providing options for editing the predetermined geographicarea.
 37. The method according to claim 35, further including presentingto said user information of the selected one or more social networksusing a map or a list.
 38. The method according to claim 35, furtherincluding receiving a search query from said user and conducting asearch among said plurality of social networks.
 39. The method accordingto claim 35, further including conducting a search on social network inan area on a map.
 40. The method according to claim 35, furtherincluding presenting a characteristic value beside a network icon whichis displayed on a map.